Locking mechanism for gaging devices.



G. 0. HAMMER. LOCKING MECHANISM FOR. GAGING DEVICES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22,1908. 917,759, Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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I G. O. HAMMER. G MEGHANI$M PQR GAGING DEVICES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1908.

LOGKIN Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UN STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GILBERT O. HAMMER, OF BELOI'I, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE BERLIN MACHINE WORKS, OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR GAGING DEVICES.

Application filed January 22,3908. Serial No. 112,181.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 13, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT O. HAMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beloit, in the county of Rock and State of l i isconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locking Mechanism for Gaging Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices or mechanism in general, and concerns particularly such devices which have an adjustable member adapted to be locked or held in any one of a variety of adjusted positions. In some cases a very fine adjustment of the part whose position is to be controlled is required, and it is undesirable or impossible to provide a locking mechanism for such of the ordinary notched rack or seg ment and locking dog or latch variety, because of the smallness and proximity of the notches to one another which would be necessary on a scale, rack, or segment of convenient and desirable size.

My improved device is intended to provide a fine or minute adjustment of the parts of the mechanism, and still not have the notches of the rack too near together, or the rack or segment of excessive size. The rack in my novel mechanism has the usual notches conveniently spaced apart and is equipped with a graduated scale. The adjustable handle or other part, the position of which is to be regulated, is located adjacent to the rack and is provided not only with an index cooperating with the scale, but is also supplied with a spring-pressed handle connected to a plurality of locking dogs or detents adapted to enter the notches of the rack one at a time to fasten or lock the adjustable handle in position. These dogs are spaced apart a distance different from that between the notches of the rack or segment, whereby when either dog is in a notch its companion, if a pair of dogs is used, is resting on one of the teeth or projections between the notches. By means of such a device the adjustable handle may be locked in a number of positions greater than the number of notches in the rack, the exact number depending upon the number of dogs or detents employed.

- On the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention, which, however, is susceptible of a variety of em bodiments.

On the drawings, on the various views of which. like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout,-Figure 1 is a side elevation of one style or form of my improved gaging device; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the center of the construction shown in Fig. 1 adjacent to the adjustable handle; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail of the notched rack or segment and adjustable handle on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the adjustable handle illustrating the locking mechanism in detail; and Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 55 of Fig. 4 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

In the lower end of a base or standard 10 of any suitable or desirable construction is a bearing 11 which receives a stationary short shaft 12 on which a sheave or grooved pulley 13 is rotatably mounted. Cooperating with and passing around this sheave is a cable 14 which, if desired, may be connected to one of the saws of a gang-saw, whereby movement of the cable in one direction or the other adjusts the position of the saw. As is obvious, it is quite immaterial what part is operated by the cable, since my invention relates more particularly to the locking mechanism de scribed hereinafter. A handle 15 is also mounted on the shaft 12 and is fastened in any convenient manner to the sheave 13, whereby turning of the handle rotates the sheave and actuates the adjusting cable. In the present instance I have shown the connection between the handle .nd sheave as consisting of a spring-actu ated sliding pin 16, but the style or form of connection is of no im ortance.

curved rack or segment 17 is mounted on the top of the standard or pillar 10 adjacent to the handle 15, as is clearly illustrated, a bar 18 connecting the ends of the rack or segment lying against or adjacent to the outer face of the handle, as is shown in Fig. 2, to hold the handle in its proper plane of operation. The top convex or curved surface of the rack or segment is supplied with a scale 19 graduated to correspond to the various positions assuniable by the handle and which in. y be considered as the adjustable member of the mechanism, although various other parts are also adjusted simultaneously with the movement of the handle. The face of the rack or segment 17 adjacent to or facing the adjustable handle 15 is supplied with a plurality of notches 20 radially arranged with respect to the axis of shaft 12. Pivoted at 21 between a pair of spaced lugs 22 on the outer face of handle 15 is a controlling handle 22 having in terposed between the same and the main handle 15 a spring 23, tending to force the controlling handle away from the handle 15. The lower end of the lock-controlling handle 22 is bifurcated or slotted arid receives between itspair of parallel arms a rocker or lever 24 pivoted to the lock-controlling handle 22 at 25. Passing through suitable apertures in the handle15 adjacent to the notches 20 is a pair of sliding loeningdogs 26 and 27 each having at its outer end a pin 28 engaging in a slot 29 of the rocker.

As is clearly indicated on the drawings, these pin and slot or loose connections of the dogs with the rocker are on opposite sides of the latters fulcrum or pivot 25, and the inner end of each dog is supplied with a transverse stop-pin 30 which, by engagement with the arm 15, limits and restricts outward move ment of the dog or detent. The slots 20 of the rack or segment are somewhat tapered, as is shown in Fig. 5, and the ends of the sliding locking-dogs or detents are correspondingly shaped. It should be noted further that the dogs 26 and 2'7 are not directly above one another on the handle 15, but are ofiset slightly, in the present instance an amount equal to onehalf the distance between the slots 20 of the rack or segment. It will be apparent, therefore, that when one dog is in one of the notches, the other or companion dog is unable to enter any of the notche but is compelled to rest upon the outer face of one of the projections or teeth between the notches. It will also be obvious that, owing to this spacing of the dogs or detents, the number of positions in which the adjustable handle 15 may be locked is double that of the number of notches of the rack or segment, and the graduations of the scale 19 are such as to correspond to all of the adjusted positions in which the handle 15 may be held by the detents, a pointer or index 31 fastened to the handle and extending over the graduations of the scale indicating at all times the position of the handle.

The operation of the above described mechanism is substantially as follows: Assuming that it is desired to shift the handle 15, sheave 13, and cable 14, the operator grasps the two handles 15 and 22, pressing the latter against the action of spring 23 toward the former. Previous to this operation one of the locking dogs or detents, such as that characterized 27, had been fitting in one of the notches 20, while the companion dog or detent 26 rested upon the face of one of the teeth between the notches. 'lhe op erator in pressing the handle 22 toward the handle 15 causes the rocking of the former on its pivot or fulcrum 21, occasioning the withdrawal of locking dog 27 from the notch in which it had been fitting. No movement of the dog 26 occurs, because it is prevented from sliding outwardl r owing to its stop or abutment pin 30 en aging the inner face of handle 15. Since the dog 26 is unable to move, and the dog 2? slides outwardly, the rocker 24 is caused to turn upon its fulcrum or pivot the pin and slot connection 28, 29 with the dog 27 compensating for or permitting the sliding movement of the dog and the rotary movement of the rocker. This is the only reason for supplying the loose connections between the rocker-and the pair of locking dogs. Outward sliding of the dog 27, as is obvious, is limited and restricted by the stop pin 30, and as soon as both dogs are freed from the notches the handle 15 and associated parts may be turned to any desired position, as indicated by the pointer 21 on the scale 19. The operator then releases the handle 22, and owing to the spring 23 this handle is turned on its pivot, tending to thrust by means of the rocker the two locking dogs into notches. ()nly one of them, however, is able to enter a notch, the other resting against the face of one of the teeth between the notches. If the handle 15 is moved merely from one graduation on the scale 19 to the next and locked in the new or adjusted position, the dog which previously had been idle enters either the notch previously receiving its companion dog or the notch adjacent thereto, depending upon the direction of turning of the adjustable handle Although in the present construction 1 have illustrated and described only a single adjustable handle, sheave, and cable, under ordinary circumstances in a gang-saw a plurality of these parts would be employed on the single stai-idard or post, but inasmuch as my invention could be fully described as associated with but one of these handles, 1 have limited my illustration and description to a single handle. To those of a mechanical turn of mind it will be apparent that my invention is not limited and restricted to merely a pair of locking dogs or detents asso ciated with the adjustable handle, but that any number of the same may be used as circumstances dictate or require, the graduations on the scale, of course, being made to correspond to the whole number of positions to which the adjustable handle may be brought and locked.

To those skilled in the art it will be apparent that the locking mechanism and construction shown and described may be reversed, that is the locliing dogs may be positioned directly one above the other on the adjustable handle and the notches on the rack or segment may be staggered, but owing to the difllculty and increased expense in manufacturing such a staggered rack or segmember movable relatively thereto, a springactuated handle fulcrumed on said ad ustable member, a rocker pivoted or fulcrumed on said handle, a plurality of oil-set dogs or detents slidable transversely through said member and adapted to enter the notches of said rack or segment and lock sa'd memher in aiiljnsted position, and loose connections between said dogs or detents and said rocker, substantially as described;

2. in a gaging device, the combination of a notched rack or segment, an adjustable member movable relatively thereto, a springactuated handle fulcrumed on said adjustable member, a rocker pivoted o1 fulcrumed on said handle, a plurality of off-set sliding dogs or detents on said member and adapted to enter the notches of said rack or segment and lock said member in adjusted position,

loose connections between said dogs or detents and said rocker, and stops on said sliding dogs cooperating with. said adjustable member to limit the movement of said dogs or detents away from said rack or segment, substantially as described.

3. in a gaging device, the combination of a notched rack or segment, an adjustable member movable relatively thereto, a spring pressed handle fulcrumed on said adjustable member, a rocker fulcrumed or pivoted on said spring-pressed handle, a plurality of sliding dogs or detents mounted on said member and adapted to enter the notches of said rack or segment and lock said member in adjusted position, a pin and slot connection between each of said locking dogs or detents and rocker, transverse sto 3 pins on said locking dogs or detents adapted to cooperate With said adjustable member to limit the outward sliding of said dogs, a scale adjacent to said rack or segment, and a pointer or index on said adjustable member co-acting with the gracuations of said scale, substantially as described.

GILBERT O. HAMMER.

Witnesses:

LAURA Ross, V]. A. PERKINs. 

